Page 28 of Dangerous Men

“His nameisAlec,” I tell her, confused. I glance around to look for him. “What do you mean, he?—”

I stop mid-sentence, a smile creeping over my face.

“Wait, you didn’t know who he was?” I ask, voice teasing. “You really had no idea?”

“None,” she confirms, sounding more than a little irritated.

I laugh, shaking my head at the glare she shoots me. “Sorry, Babygirl, I just… I assumed you knew. I mean…everyoneknows Mason Sterling. He’s been on the cover of nearly every magazine in the city. And, yeah, of course I knew. I’m his CMO.”

Before she can ask, I quickly add, “Chief marketing officer. Don’t ask me too much about the job, though. I’m terrible at it. We have a whole team to do the actual work. I’m just a pretty face.”

I give her a wink, but it’s not ego making me say it, it’s just a fact. I’ve been there with Alec for most of those magazine shoots. Hell, I’ve even made a few covers, all on my own.

Not to brag or anything, but I’ve been named Fortune City’s most eligible bachelor for two years in a row.

Now the blush on her face isn’t from dirty thoughts. It’s from embarrassment.

My smile falters.

“Hey,” I stop moving, surprising her and a few of the couples dancing around us. Some of them glare at us as they pass. “Are you really upset?”

Sydney looks away and chews her lip.

“I don’t know,” she says.

It’s a lie. An obvious one. She’s holding herself back, and I don’t like that. I want all of her, not just pieces.

“You can be honest with me, Babygirl,” I say. “About anything. And if you’re upset, I want to know. So I can fix it.”

This time, she meets my eyes. She considers me for a few seconds, like she’s weighing her next words carefully.

“I am upset,” she finally admits. “It feels like he lied to me, even if he didn’t actually… lie about anything. He misled me. Deliberately. And I don’t know if I can trust someone who does that.”

I nod quickly, eager for her to continue.

“And it makes me feel…stupid, I guess, that I didn’t know.” She huffs, crinkling her nose. “Plus, he’s been coming to my shop every day, and buying books, and talking with me, and I just don’t understandwhy. I didn’t understand whybefore, and now, with this?” She gestures around the room, looking flustered.

“He likes you,” I say. I mean, it’s obvious, isn’t it? “He comes by the store because he wants to see you.”

Snorting a laugh, she rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right. Because I’m so amazing, and special and?—”

“Stop.” I reach up and cup her face in my hands, eyes boring into hers because Ican’t. I can’t listen to her finish that sentence. “You are amazing, Sydney. Never think you’re anything less. You’reperfect.”

She pulls back from me, out of my touch, looking stunned. “What?”

“You’reperfect,” I repeat. And I need her to know I mean it. “You want to know why he goes by your shop every day? It’s to see you. Because he’s half in love with you already. He’ssmitten. And that’s not a word I’ve ever used to describe Alec before.”

I’m not lying. Sure, he’s dated women before, but the obsessionis new. The way he’s acting about her is new. Sheisspecial, and he recognizes it too.

Sydney shakes her head, looking incredulous. “But he doesn’t even know me.Youdon’t even know me, Ash. Neither of you do.”

I clear my throat. “He probably knows more than you think.” Not wanting her to dwell on that, or what surveillance he might have on her already, I add, “But if you think he doesn’t know who you are, you can let him get to know you. If that’s somethingyouwant. But don’t tell me you’re not amazing, because youare. I asked you to be honest with me. And that includes being honest with yourself.”

“I just…” Sydney sighs, looking down at herself and shaking her head. “I don’t know what someone like him could possibly see in me.”

“Maybe ask him,” I suggest. “I’m sure he’s dying to tell you.”

She frowns at me, considering. Then her gaze catches on something over my shoulder, and she steps away from me. Whatever she was thinking vanishes from her face, like she pulled on a mask.